RAILROADS: The Troubles of the Pennsy

As casually as a switching engineman shunting a string of milk cars into a siding, the Pennsylvania Railroad announced last week that it will lop 40 passenger trains off its schedules, effective July 8. Twenty-five commuter trains will be dropped from Philadelphia's heavily traveled Main Line and other suburban areas; long-distance service in & out of Pittsburgh will be reduced by seven trains, and cuts will be made on trains going into Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore and Buffalo. The Pennsy's explanation was curt and businesslike: it is losing money on passenger traffic...